Atalanta have reportedly made an initial offer to Everton for English centre-back Ben Godfrey, who is about to enter the final year of his contract at Goodison Park.
Conflicting reports on Atalanta bid for Godfrey
David Ornstein of The Athletic revealed that La Dea have submitted an initial offer of €10m for the 26-year-old defender, who is understood to be valued in the region of £15m (€17.7m) by his current Premier League employers.
Reports in Italy suggested that the figure of Atalanta’s initial offer is slightly lower, as Gianluca Di Marzio claims that the bid was for a sum of €8m.
Though Godfrey is said to be keen on the move, both reports indicate that Atalanta will need to improve their offer in order to strike a deal with Everton.
Godfrey is under contract with Everton for just over 12 months, until the summer of 2025, and turned out in 15 Premier League matches last season, plus an additional outing in the League Cup.
The former Norwich City youngster earned two England caps in 2021, appearing in EURO 2020 warm-up matches against Austria and Romania, before being cut from Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad.
The Englishman had briefly been linked with a move to Roma during the January transfer window, before the Giallorossi eventually landed on Juventus youngster Dean Huijsen.
🚨 EXCL: Everton receive €10m bid from Atalanta for Ben Godfrey. Verbal proposal below £15m asking price (offered by another club). 26yo keen but #Atalanta must get nearer valuation to prevent sale elsewhere or stay for last yr of #EFC deal @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/4ALJ3oqklW
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 26, 2024